KR20130009632A - Battery module of improved connection reliability and battery pack employed with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A battery module with enhanced connection reliability and a medium-to large-sized battery pack including the same are provided to enhance manufacturing fairness and effectiveness. CONSTITUTION: In a battery module(300), a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell(100) capable is electrically connected. Between the unit modules or unit module and a bus bar(120) is electrically connected in series or in a row. In the battery module, two or more electrical contacting points are 2 existed. At each electrical contacting point, the number of electrical contacting objects is smaller than the number of the electrical contacting objects.

Description

Battery Module with Improved Connection Reliability and Medium and Large Battery Packs Including the Same {Battery Module of Improved Connection Reliability and Battery Pack Employed with the Same}

The present invention relates to a battery module having improved connection reliability and a medium-large battery pack including the same, and more particularly, a battery module in which a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell capable of charging and discharging are electrically connected. Each of the two or the module modules and the bus bars are electrically connected in series and / or in parallel. The battery module has two or more electrical connection points, and the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection points is determined by the battery module. It relates to a battery module, characterized in that less than the total number of electrically connected objects.

The rechargeable battery that can be charged and discharged is an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and a plug-in proposed as a solution to solve air pollution of existing gasoline and diesel vehicles using fossil fuel. It is attracting attention as a power source of devices requiring high output and large capacity, including hybrid electric vehicles (Plug-In HEV).

In such a device, a middle- or large-sized battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected is used in order to provide a high output large capacity.

Since medium and large battery modules are preferably manufactured in a small size and weight as possible, square batteries and pouch-type batteries, which can be charged with high integration and have a small weight to capacity, are mainly used as battery cells (unit cells) of medium and large battery modules. have. In particular, a pouch-shaped battery using an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its advantages such as small weight, low manufacturing cost, and easy shape deformation.

On the other hand, a battery module mounted on a medium-large battery pack is generally manufactured by stacking a plurality of battery cells with high density, and is manufactured by electrically connecting electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing the electrical connection structure of a typical representative battery module.

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery module 50 is electrically connected between the electrode terminal 25 and the bus bar 10 in a state where three battery cells 20 are stacked, and the three battery cells are sequentially After the stack is electrically connected with the bus bar 10 for connecting to the other battery cells at the same time.

However, as the battery cells are stacked, the thickness and width of the electrode lead and the bus bar become larger, which requires more energy during welding.

In this case, the welding is difficult to use a laser or resistance welding is generally made by ultrasonic welding, but also when the ultrasonic welding of high energy is performed, ultrasonic waves are also delivered to other parts of the battery cell electrically This may be damaged, the life of the welding device itself can be reduced, and problems such as sticking of the welding device and the battery cell will occur.

Therefore, there is a high need for a battery module that can secure a reliable connection site that can utilize various types of connection methods by subdividing electrical connection locations without damaging the battery cells by utilizing little energy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

An object of the present invention is to provide a battery module that can minimize the damage when welding the battery cells or the battery cell and the bus bar using a low energy and can utilize a variety of connection methods.

A battery module according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a battery module in which a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell capable of charging and discharging are electrically connected, and the unit modules or a unit module and a bus bar are connected in series. Electrical connection in a parallel manner, and / or in parallel, wherein the battery module has two or more electrical connection points, and the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection points is smaller than the number of electrical connection objects in the battery module. .

In general, a battery module is welded at a time between electrode terminals or between electrode terminals and a bus bar in a state in which unit modules are stacked. However, when welding a plurality of electrode terminals or the electrode terminal and the bus bar at the same time, the welding is performed at the same site at the same time, as described above, the damage of the welding site is inevitable as the number of electrically connected objects increases.

In contrast, two or more electrical connection points are present in the battery module of the present invention, and the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection points is configured to be smaller than the number of electrical connection objects in the battery module, thereby providing the amount of energy required for each position. This reduces the damage of the battery cell inside and outside the welding device in addition to the electrical connection point. In addition, it is very desirable to use a variety of connection methods by reducing the number of connection objects to be connected for each location.

As used herein, the term electrical connection point is defined as one electrical connection point when two or more welding points and the like are formed for coupling or strengthening connection between the same electrical connection objects.

In the present invention, the unit module may be composed of one battery cell or may be composed of a plurality of battery cells.

In one preferred example, the unit module may be composed of one battery cell. One battery cell constitutes one unit module, and the electrical connection points of the respective battery cells are different from each other, so that the electrical connection points of the respective electrical connection objects do not overlap, and welding is possible even with a small amount of energy. It is possible to prevent the influence of welding on other parts.

In another preferred embodiment, the unit module may be composed of a combination of two or more battery cells connected by one electrical connection point. For example, the unit module may be composed of two to four battery cells. In some cases, the battery cells in the unit module may also be configured to have two or more electrical connection points, as in the electrical connection between the unit modules.

In the present invention, the battery cell is a secondary battery having a thin thickness and relatively wide width and length so as to minimize the overall size when the battery cell is charged for the configuration of the battery module, preferably a plate-shaped battery having an easy stacking structure. It may be a cell.

As a preferable example of such a plate-shaped battery cell,

(a) A pouch having a structure in which an electrode assembly having a cathode / separation membrane / cathode structure is built in a battery case of a laminate sheet including a resin layer and a metal layer, and the cathode terminal and the cathode terminal protrude from one or both ends of the battery case. Battery cells; or

(b) a rectangular battery cell having a structure in which an electrode assembly having a cathode / separation membrane / cathode structure is built in a rectangular battery case made of a metal or plastic material, and the anode terminal and the cathode terminal protrude from one or both ends of the battery case;

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In one specific example, the unit modules are electrically connected to the bus bar with its electrode terminals electrically connected to each other, and includes two or more electrical connection points between the battery cells and between the battery cells and the bus bar. It may be a structure.

In the above structure, when the number of unit modules is n and the number of bus bars is one, the number of electrical connection points may be 2 to n.

In one preferred example, the number of electrically connected objects at the electrical connection point may be four or less, and more preferably, the number of electrically connected objects at the electrical connection point may be two.

Therefore, even if a plurality of electrical connection objects are configured, each of the electrical connection objects can be welded with only a small amount of energy.

In another preferred example, when the number of unit modules is n and the number of bus bars is one, the number of electrical connection points may be n.

In the above structure, the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection points is two, preferably, the position of adjacent electrical connection points may be biased with each other.

Specifically, the electrical connection points are sequentially biased in position, so that the connection is easy even if the electrical connection objects are stacked. The deflection of the positions of the electrical connection points means that the electrical connection points do not overlap each other, and the sequential deflection indicates that the electrical connection points are gradually distributed in one direction so that a plurality of electrical connection points do not overlap each other at each location. It means.

Therefore, the battery module having such a structure can be improved in the manufacturing process of the battery module by sequentially making electrical connections without overlapping the electrical connection points of the electrical connection objects according to the desired structure.

On the other hand, if the thickness and width of the electrode terminal is too small, the heat generation increases as the magnitude of the current through the electrode terminal increases, as a result there is a problem in the life and safety of the battery cell, on the contrary, the thickness of the electrode terminal When the width is excessively large, the sealing property between the battery case and the electrode terminal is lowered and moisture penetration may occur, which is not preferable. Thus, as an example, the thickness of the electrode terminal may be in the range of 50 to 1000 ㎛, the width of the electrode terminal may be in the range of 1 to 20 cm, but is not limited to these ranges depending on the specifications of the battery cell, of course. . That is, the electrical connection can be performed even for the electrode terminals of a thicker thickness and a wider width than the conventional one, and the same is true for the bus bar.

The means for easily coupling the electrical connection objects at the electrical connection point is not particularly limited, and for example, a group consisting of bolting, riveting, crimping, soldering, laser welding, ultrasonic welding, and resistance welding. It can be combined by one or more means selected from.

Therefore, as the battery cells are stacked, the thickness and width of the electrode lead and the bus bar are increased, and thus the electrical connection objects may be coupled in various ways, unlike the conventional structure in which the electrode cells and the bus bars are coupled only by ultrasonic welding.

The present invention also provides a battery module which is electrically connected to a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell capable of charging and discharging, wherein the unit modules or the unit module and the bus bar are electrically connected in series and / or in parallel. The first and second electrical connection objects, which are electrically connected objects that face each other, are electrically connected by a first electrical connection point and face the first or second electrically connected objects. The third electrical connection object provides a battery module that is electrically connected to the first electrical connection object or the second electrical connection object by a second electrical connection point.

This battery module also provides the effects as described above.

In addition, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a battery module.

As one specific example, in a method of manufacturing a battery module comprising a structure that is electrically connected to the bus bar in a state in which the unit modules are sequentially stacked,

In the structure in which the electrode terminals of the n unit modules are electrically connected to one bus bar while being electrically connected to each other,

(a) forming a first electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the uppermost unit module (first unit module) among the stacked unit modules to an electrode terminal of a second unit module stacked adjacent to the first unit module;

(b) forming a second electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the second unit module to an electrode terminal of a third unit module stacked adjacent to the second unit module at a position biased with respect to the first electrical connection point;

(c) repeating the step (b) to electrically connect the electrode terminals of the n unit modules so that the n-th electrical connection point is finally formed;

(d) forming an nth electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the nth unit module to a bus bar adjacent to the nth unit module at a position biased with respect to the n-1th electrical connection point;

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Therefore, a plurality of unit modules and a bus bar can be connected with a small amount of energy, and a desired electrical connection can be performed with improved fairness by using various connection methods.

On the other hand, in the case of medium and large battery packs, a plurality of battery cells are used to secure high output and large capacity. The battery modules constituting the battery pack have higher mounting efficiency, structural stability, and stability to secure safety in a limited mounting space. Heat dissipation efficiency is required.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a medium-large battery pack manufactured by combining the battery module according to a desired output and capacity.

The medium-large battery system according to the present invention may be manufactured by combining battery packs according to a desired output and capacity, and considering the mounting efficiency, structural stability, and the like as described above, the medium and large battery system has a limited mounting space and frequent vibration and strong impact. The electric vehicle, the hybrid electric vehicle, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to be exposed or may be preferably used as a power source of the power storage device.

Since the structure and fabrication method of such devices are known in the art, detailed description thereof is omitted herein.

As described above, the battery module according to the present invention has two or more electrical connection points, and the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection points is configured to be smaller than the number of electrical connection objects in the entire battery module, for each position By reducing the amount of energy required to minimize damage to the unit module, by utilizing a variety of connection methods, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the battery module.

1 is a perspective view showing the electrical connection structure of a typical representative battery module;
2 is a perspective view showing the electrical connection structure of the battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a schematic diagram showing a series of connection process of the electrode terminal and the bus bar of FIG. 2;
4 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical connection structure of a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a schematic view showing the electrical connection structure of the battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing the electrical connection structure of the battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a series of connection process of the electrode terminal and the bus bar of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, three battery cells 100 as a battery module 300 including a structure that is electrically connected to the bus bar 120 in a stacked state sequentially, three pouch-type battery cells ( The electrode terminals of 100 are electrically connected to one bus bar 120 by welding while being electrically connected to each other, and the number of electrical connection points is three.

Specifically, the electrode terminal 110 of the uppermost battery cell (first battery cell: 101) of the stacked battery cells 100 of the second battery cell 102 stacked adjacent to the first battery cell 101 The first electrical connection point 200 is formed by connecting to the electrode terminal 112.

A third stacked electrode terminal 112 of the second battery cell 102 adjacent to the second battery cell 102 at a position biased with respect to the first electrical connection point 200, that is, at a position spaced at a predetermined interval; The second electrical connection point 210 is formed by connecting to the electrode terminal 110 of the battery cell 103.

Thereafter, the electrode terminal 113 of the third battery cell 103 is connected to the bus bar 120 adjacent to the third battery cell 103 at a position biased with respect to the second electrical connection point 210. The third electrical connection point 220 is formed.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the electrical connection structure of the battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 together with FIG. 2, the electrode terminals of the six battery cells 100 and 100 ′ are electrically connected to each of the bus bars 120 by welding in an electrically connected state. In this case, the number of electrical connection points is six.

In this case, the positions of the electrical connection points between the three battery cells 100 and 100 ′ are respectively biased sequentially around the bus bar 120.

5 is a perspective view showing the electrical connection structure of the battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the two unit modules 100A and 100B each have three battery cells 101a, 101b, 101c, 102a, 102b, and 102c stacked on top of each other.

The electrode terminals 111a, 111b, and 111c of the battery cells 101a, 101b, and 101c of the first unit module 100A are connected to the electrode terminals 112a of the uppermost battery cell 102a of the second unit module 100B. The first electrical connection point 200a is formed.

Thereafter, the second electrical connection point 210a is connected to the electrode terminals 112b and 112c of the remaining battery cells 101b and 101c of the second unit module 100B at a position biased with respect to the first electrical connection point 200a. Next, the third electrical connection point 220a is formed by connecting to the bus bar 120 adjacent to the electrode terminal 112c of the lowermost battery cell 102c of the second unit module 100B.

In the electrical connection structure of FIG. 5, the battery cells 101a, 101b, 101c constituting the unit module 100A are electrically connected by one electrical connection point as shown in FIG. 1, which is the unit module 100B. The same is true for.

Therefore, the battery module having such a structure can improve the manufacturing processability of the battery module by making an electrical connection without overlapping the electrical connection point of the electrical connection objects according to the desired structure.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

Claims (20)

A battery module in which a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell capable of charging and discharging is electrically connected. The unit modules or the unit module and the bus bar are electrically connected in series and / or in parallel. The module has two or more electrical connection points, the battery module, characterized in that the number of electrical connection objects at each of the electrical connection point is smaller than the number of electrical connection objects in the entire battery module. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the unit module is composed of one battery cell. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the unit module comprises a combination of two or more battery cells connected by one electrical connection point. The battery module according to claim 3, wherein the unit module is composed of two to four battery cells. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a plate-shaped battery cell having an easy stacking structure. The method of claim 5, wherein the plate-shaped battery cell,
(a) A pouch having a structure in which an electrode assembly having a positive electrode / separation membrane / cathode structure is built in a battery case of a laminate sheet including a resin layer and a metal layer, and the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal protrude from one or both ends of the battery case. Battery cells; or
(b) a rectangular battery cell having a structure in which an electrode assembly having a cathode / separation membrane / cathode structure is built in a rectangular battery case made of a metal or plastic material, and the anode terminal and the cathode terminal protrude from one or both ends of the battery case;
Battery module characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the unit modules are electrically connected to the bus bar while the electrode terminals thereof are electrically connected to each other, the unit modules and each of the unit modules and the bus bar includes at least two electrical connection points Battery module characterized in that the. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein when the number of unit modules is n and the number of bus bars is one, the number of electrical connection points is 2 to n. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the number of electrical connection objects at the electrical connection point is 4 or less. The battery module as claimed in claim 9, wherein the number of objects to be electrically connected at the electrical connection point is two. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein when the number of unit modules is n and the number of bus bars is one, the number of electrical connection points is n. 12. The battery module of claim 11, wherein the number of electrical connection objects is two at each of the electrical connection points, and the positions of adjacent electrical connection points are biased with each other. 10. The battery module of claim 9, wherein the electrical connection points are sequentially biased in position. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein the electrode terminal has a thickness in a range of 50 to 1000 µm. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein the electrode terminal has a width in a range of 1 to 20 cm. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical connection objects at the electrical connection point is coupled by one or more means selected from the group consisting of bolting, riveting, crimping, soldering, laser welding, ultrasonic welding, and resistance welding. Battery module. A battery module in which a plurality of unit modules based on a battery cell capable of charging and discharging is electrically connected. The unit modules or the unit modules and the bus bars are electrically connected in series and / or in parallel. The first electrical connection object and the second electrical connection object are electrically connected by the first electrical connection point, and the third electrical connection object facing the first electrical connection object or the second electrical connection object is the first electrical connection. The object or the second electrical connection The battery module, characterized in that which is electrically connected by the second electrical connection point. In the method for manufacturing a battery module comprising a structure that is electrically connected to the bus bar in a state in which the unit modules are sequentially stacked,
In the structure in which the electrode terminals of the n unit modules are electrically connected to one bus bar while being electrically connected to each other,
(a) forming a first electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the uppermost unit module (first unit module) among the stacked unit modules to an electrode terminal of a second unit module stacked adjacent to the first unit module;
(b) forming a second electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the second unit module to an electrode terminal of a third unit module stacked adjacent to the second unit module at a position biased with respect to the first electrical connection point;
(c) repeating the step (b) to electrically connect the electrode terminals of the n unit modules so that the n-th electrical connection point is finally formed;
(d) forming an nth electrical connection point by connecting an electrode terminal of the nth unit module to a bus bar adjacent to the nth unit module at a position biased with respect to the n-1th electrical connection point;
Method of manufacturing a battery module comprising a. A high-output large-capacity battery pack having a structure including two or more battery modules according to claim 1 in response to output and capacity. 20. The medium-large battery pack of claim 19, wherein the battery pack is used as a power source for an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a power storage device.

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